Phobia
by SerenNoir
Summary: Sometimes, in life, you have to take great plunges and leaps to succeed. But what are you supposed to do when you're afraid of everything? AU Modern
1. Concussion and a Friend

**Phobia**

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**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments:****I was not intending to start a new story due to the arrival of school. And, boy did it arrive. It seems I have more homework this year. Happy, happy, joy, joy. I've kind of always wanted to write an AU modern fic but was not sure what direction to go in.**

**I've read so many brilliant Naruto AU's that I was apprehensive to jump into the main stream without knowing what I was doing. I tried to step up my writing skills in this fic because I have grown in English classes and it was about time some proof started to show for all my hard work. I hope this actually goes somewhere and I won't get too bogged down in schoolwork that this fic actually seems like a burden of sorts. But, then again, we can only wait and see.**

**Mood Song: Apologize by One Republic**

**Warning: This is an yaoi/shonen ai fic. Surely, if you're reading, that must mean you have been a member of this site for some time and know what this means so I see no point in warning you when you obviously saw the pairing at the beginning.**

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**Chapter One: Concussion and a Friend**

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The number nine bus lurched forward causing Itachi's briefcase to slide to the floor from the seat next to him. He sighed heavily, bending to retrieve the black bag. Out of simple boredom, he studied the other occupants on the bus, few that they may be. Other than himself and the driver, there was an elderly lady with a walker at the front, her bright blue and purple muumuu spilling out over the edge of her seat. Directly across from him was a woman in her mid-thirties who often reprimanded you two young sons to "sit down and be quiet or no candy later." He noticed her fingers habitually clutched at the hem of her shirt.

Sitting at the very back, deaf to everything but his mP3 player, was a young man, around Itachi's age. He studied this one longer, curiosity getting the better of him. The boy had long blond hair, which he kept in a ponytail at the top of his head, all but a quarter of which that hung over his left eye. He was clad in a plain black hoodie, camo pants and black combat boots better fit for war than the bus.

Sighing once more when the bus lurched again, he clutched his briefcase on his lap to prevent it from falling. He hated public transportation. It was noisy, usually crowded and smelled like god-knows-what. Yeah, he would trade this for his little yellow Mitsubishi Eclipse with its soft black, leather interior and purring engine any day. Problem was, he had promised his younger brother Sasuke and Sasuke's recently acquired driver's license that they could borrow his car for the day; followed up with a stern lecture on if anything happened to his "baby", a certain person would be missing a very important bodily functioning asset. I.e. 'little Sasuke.'

As Lady Luck would have it, the day he decided to rent out his car was the same day Uchiha Corporations decided to hold their biggest meeting; a meeting Itachi was going to be late to if the traffic on the freeway didn't pick up anytime soon. This was a very important job for him as he was the youngest employee, at 22, and having a boss like his father didn't actually earn him any respect in the workplace. This meeting would determine his status and show to all those little, rich boys he was, by far, smarter than they and a hell of a lot richer. He was also hoping for a promotion from daddy dearest; mainly a position closer to his father because if there was anything Itachi would want more was to take over the business and fire his father's sorry ass.

Fugaku Uchiha was a corporate mogul, known for depleting wages at whim and a past history in illegal conspiracies. In Itachi's opinion, he would be a better company president by a long shot. But all this was never going to happen in the bus he was occupying didn't reach speeds above twenty!

As if on cue, the bus picked up speed…and rear-ended the car in front of it, who suddenly decided to brake. The force of the impact pitched Itachi forward, causing him to hit his head sharply on the edge of the seat in front of him. He was then thrown back into the seat rather roughly, his hand pressed to his forehead. He felt something warm and sticky beneath his fingertips and when he brought his hand down to see they were covered in blood. Itachi swallowed convulsively, his stomach heaving in uncontrollable spasms. The two young boys across from him were crying, confused and scared by the situation. He forced himself to take a few deep breaths to try to calm his queasy stomach.

'_This is ridiculous,' _he thought,'_ I'm an Uchiha. I cannot faint at the sight of my own blood.'_

He heard a voice speaking to the driver at the front of the bus. It was the blond boy. "There's no damage to us, let's get going, un," he yelled, somewhat impatiently.

"I can't kid," the driver reasoned, "state law requires me to stay put when there's an accident."

"That's bullshit, I'm going to be late for class!"

"Go sit back down before I have the police make you!"

The boy huffed in impatience and Itachi felt him stalk past him. "Hey, are you alright; you're bleeding pretty bad, un?"

Itachi groaned in response and felt himself topple sideways into the aisle, the thick black blanket of unconsciousness sweeping over him. "Shit," he heard the stranger mutter, a strong pair of arms holding him up.

Itachi winced and blinked open his eyes as fingers tied off a piece of gauze secured around his forehead. His skull throbbed painfully, a sharp headache already making itself known in his frontal lobe.

"Good, you're awake," he heard a familiar voice say. "What day is it, un?"

Itachi swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke hoarsely. "Tuesday, March 12th."

"And you're how old, un?"

"22."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course. Why are you asking me all this?" Itachi questioned, irritated. He finally managed his eyes to focus on the person above him and was shocked to see a large orb of cobalt blue. Aside from Naruto, Sasuke's best and long-time friend, Itachi had never seen eyes so beautiful, so captivating, so blue.

"Chill out dude, just making sure you don't have a concussion."

Itachi sat up slowly and rested against the arm of the seat. The bus was empty, save Itachi and the blond boy. "Where did everyone go?" he questioned, straining his neck to see out of the large windows.

"A transport came and took the old lady and the family; there wasn't enough room for us so they're sending another." He smirked and gestured outside the bus. "Driver has his hands full with the other guy's insurance agency, un."

"Damn, what time is it?" Itachi suddenly demanded, instantly straightening up.

"Uh, 10:47," the boy replied after a quick glance at his watch. Itachi slammed his hand down on the seat in an agitated manner, causing the younger male to flinch slightly. "What the hell's your problem all of a sudden, un?"

"Oh nothing, just that I missed the most crucial meeting of my entire career," Itachi replied, running a hand nervously through his hair. On second thought, he held it out to the blond, waiting for it to be grasped. "Sorry, I'm Itachi Uchiha," he continued, flashing a smile.

The boy eyed his hand and shook hesitantly. "Deidara."

Itachi raised an eyebrow at the missing surname but if this Deidara kid didn't want to give it, that was perfectly acceptable. "I didn't know they allowed children to ride public transit without an adult?" he teased.

"Ha ha, very funny, un. I'll be 20 in September," Deidara replied dryly.

Itachi glanced over him once more, realizing on closer inspection he wasn't as young as he first appeared.

"And you're not the only one late for something important either. I had a final to take in Criminal Justice."

"You don't look like you'd want to be a lawyer. In fact, you resemble some of those they prosecute," Itachi said with a smirk.

Suddenly, Deidara broke out in laughter, holding a hand to his ribcage. "You're just like all the other rich preppies: judging people by how they look, un."

"Wait, I didn't mean to imply…," Itachi tried to say but was cut off.

"Hey look. It's fine; besides you were right." He waved his arms in a bowing manner. "Meet your cliché teenage delinquent, un!"

Itachi gawked openly at the boy's audacity; this kid was really something. He was about to open his mouth to reply when he was interrupted by a loud honking outside. A beat-up Oldsmobile was parked parallel to the bus, a middle-aged redheaded man leaned out the driver's side.

"Yo, Deidara, get your skinny ass out here and lets go!"

Hopping to his feet, the blond boy rushed to the bus door. "My ride's here, nice talking to you, un!"

And he was gone, with a squeal of tires and a cloud of acrid smoke. Itachi watched the retreating form of the car till it disappeared under the overpass. Outside he could hear the bus driver still arguing with the driver of the car.

"What do you mean your insurance agency won't cover bus collisions? It's a damn vehicle just like the rest of them!?"

Glancing around the now-empty bus, he spotted a tattered green army bag shoved beneath the bench seat at the back. Picking it up, he opened the outer flap and read the nametag.

Deidara

West and 23rd

Bldg. 4 Apt. 6D

Itachi smiled. Seemed like he was going to be seeing a certain blunt, sarcastic individual once more.

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**Ending Note: How's that for a first chapter? Feedback is welcomed and will be eaten with a side of Laffy Taffy. Feed me, I'm hungry.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	2. Exposing Fear for What It Is

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Phobia

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**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: Like with all of my stories, I try to update as soon as I can because, frankly, I hate waiting for updates. Not a patient person whatsoever so I try to break that habit that seems to me accepted by all writers and update quickly. I'm in the middle of Chapter 3 for this fic; I know, not very far ahead but these chapters are longer than what I'm usually used to writing. I think I've rambled on long enough now.**

**Mood Song: One by Metallica. **

**Warning: You already know about the shonen ai. Itachi is probably going to be a bit OOC in this chapter because I mean look at the title. You'll find out soon enough. Still worried? Ever seen the show Monk.**

**Disclaimer: Forgot this on Chapter One so here it is: I do not own and really needs to realize that no one on here owns shit and that's why the name of their site is Fanfiction.**

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**Chapter 2: Exposing Fear For What It Is**

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Itachi parked his car on the curb of West and 23rd, stalling his engine and locking his doors behind him. Building 4 looked gray and dismal, a glaring six floors of aged brick, moss and vines. The surrounding neighborhood was in no better condition. Even the elevator had an aura of 'don't use me, you'll die', but Itachi held his breath and jammed the six button.

After a few moments (longest elevator ride ever) the metal doors, that long since lost their shiny luster, creaked open and he stepped out into a dimly-lit shag carpeted hallway. Outside of the apartment he was heading towards was the redheaded man from before arguing, with what Itachi presumed was the landlady, in what sounded like scattered German.

Approaching the duo, Itachi held up the tattered bag by way of explanation. The redheaded man broke off in mid-sentence and jerked a thumb to the open doorway behind him. "Through there, he needs to get his blond ass up anyway," he said in perfect English.

The small apartment was homely, albeit cluttered, and smelled faintly of cigarette smoke and sandalwood. There were four rooms: the biggest being the main living area, a tiny kitchenette set off to one side; a bedroom that was apparently the man outsides, and a miniscule bathroom. The last door wasn't really a door at all but a beaded curtain in which Itachi could see the form of a body underneath the covers on the bed.

Pushing aside the beads, Itachi stepped into the room, trying to be quiet but managing to trip over a sneaker and bump into the dresser. The lump under the covers shifted and groaned.

"Five more minutes Sasori, un," came the muffled, groggy reply.

"He wanted you to get up while the sun was still in the sky," Itachi replied, humor in his voice.

There was no answer but a hand emerged from under the blankets, a lone finger raised in response. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You left your bag on the bus; I've come to return it."

Finally, a blond head stuck its way out of the bed, followed by a pair of mesmerizing, although sleepy ice-blue pools. His hair was down from its ponytail and it fell in a messy disarray around his elbows. Itachi tossed the bag to Deidara who caught it easily.

Swinging his legs from the bed, he pushed back the covers and stood, clad only in a pair of black and violet boxers. The raven caught himself marveling at the boy's slight frame, his feminine body structure. Hell, he could practically snap him like a twig.

"Tell me when you're done ogling so I can get dressed," Deidara's voice said, snapping him from trance. Itachi scoffed and left the room, taking a seat on the sofa.

The redhead, who Itachi assumed was Sasori, was cooking something in the kitchen and its rich aroma was making his mouth water.

"Cousin, have you seen Katsu, un?" Deidara's voice rang from his room.

"I don't keep up with your blasted spider!" Sasori replied. "Hey kid, do you want some coffee?"

Itachi was momentarily distracted that there was possibly a large spider on the loose that he almost didn't hear Sasori's question. "Oh, no, thank you."

At that moment, Deidara emerged from his bedroom dressed in black silk pants and a white wife beater, his blond hair back up in its ponytail.

"Is that what you're wearing to school?" Sasori questioned, sipping his coffee.

"Who said I was going to school, un?" Deidara replied flippantly, grabbing something from the counter and plopping down next to Itachi on the couch. The food that had smelled so good was a breakfast burrito and Itachi looked at it longingly.

"Deidara, what's the point of having a scholarship if you're not even going to show up in class? Y'know what, we'll talk later, I'm late for work as it is." Grabbing his keys from the hook by the door, Sasori left, slamming the door behind him.

"Speaking of which, why aren't you at work, un?" Deidara questioned, turning his attention to the brunet.

"I'm taking a sick day. Father thought I might need one after my "injury." Itachi replied, gingerly touching the cut on his forehead.

"Still doesn't explain why you're here, un."

"I already told you, I came to give you your bag."

"You could have just turned it into the driver."

Itachi frowned, damn he was caught. Why was he here exactly? It's not like him and Deidara were buddy-buddy with each other. Frankly, the blond agitated him with his sarcastic, childish behavior. And though the heavy accent he spoke with was intriguing, Itachi found himself frustrated that he couldn't place it. He was about to open his mouth to chide the boy when something large and hairy popped into his peripheral vision. "Um, Deidara, I think I've found your pet."

Sitting on the back of the couch, in all its furry 8-legged glory, was the most monstrous tarantula he had ever laid eyes on. Now on Itachi's checklist of top 5 fears, spiders -especially of the large, hairy variety- ranked in third, right after blood and heights. So Itachi's response to when Deidara plucked the arachnid from the couch and dropped it in Itachi's lap wasn't very manly, to say in the least.

Meaning he squealed like a girl and shot three feet into the air.

Itachi squeezed his eyes shut and tried not to think of the eight legs creeping down his shirt. He heard Deidara chuckling and when he cracked open his eyes the boy was there, not inches from him, trying to unhook Katsu's feet from the material. Itachi stiffened immediately at this clear overstepping of personal boundaries.

He could have brushed the spider off himself (then step on it); Deidara didn't need to help, especially since he was so close to him. Fear 4: unnaturally small spaces, commonly known as claustrophobia.

Finally, after several agonizing minutes to Itachi and possibly the innocent arachnid, Deidara ran to his bedroom, probably to put Katsu back into his tank. "Gross! I got bird guts on my hands, un!"

Itachi, sad to say, started in his seat, shock and confusion overcoming him. "Okay, since I have to ask now, why exactly are there dead birds in your room?"

"Katsu is a bird-eating tarantula and he made a mess out of his breakfast," Deidara explained, coming out of his room and heading towards the bathroom, holding his hands out in front of him. The sound of running water drifted from the open door. "Heh, cool. I've never noticed before but they're a gray-ish color, un!"

Itachi resisted the urge to vomit, but being a guy, a sick curiosity got the better of him and he found himself walking towards the noise. Without knowing, he bumped into the door and it began to close behind him.

"Hey, don't let that door…" Deidara began. The knob clicked into place seconds after. "…behind you, un," he finished with a sigh.

Itachi raised an eyebrow and glanced back and forth from the door to the blond taking a seat on the edge of the tub.

"The door locks from the outside and as you can see, there's no door handle. So until Sasori gets home and breaks us out, we're stuck here, un."

At this point, Itachi was beginning to panic; the prospect of having to wait in a room the size of a mini fridge compared to the rest of the apartment was a _tad_ unsettling. Here's where that claustrophobia sets in.

But being an Uchiha, not to mention a self-respecting egotistical male, he sucked it up and put on a brave face so as to not look like a wimp in front of hard-ass kid who kept a fucking spider as a pet!

Well, until the lights went out, that is.

Itachi was blessed to only have had two panic attacks in his lifetime but Fate was an evil two-timing bitch and now our Uchiha was feeling a familiar constricting tightness in his chest.

Fear 5: the dark. Don't laugh. Has to do with seeing a family member die in front of you; that can really mess up a kid y'know! Story for another time though, moving on!

"You have got to be shitting me, my landlord is such an asshole, un! We're not that late on rent!" Deidara fumed loudly.

Itachi, on the other hand, had long since sunk to the floor, breathing erratically. Somewhere in the panicked vestiges of his brain he recalled the argument Sasori was having with the German lady. A loud crash sounded from outside the bathroom that made both boys jump in alarm.

"Damn, he's out again. I swear he's a fucking Houdini, un! I'll have to start putting a brick on his lid!"

This statement sent Itachi over the edge and he began to frantically crawl and scramble towards to door, throwing his weight against it in a feeble attempt to escape. Realizing quickly it wasn't going to budge or go anywhere anytime soon, he dug his fingernails between the door frame and tried to push the lock back that way. Faintly, he could hear his own breath and pulse speed up and his heart felt like it was about to jackhammer right out of his chest. After a particularly difficult intake of air, the raven-haired man fell back against the counter, drawing breath like an asthmatic.

"_So this is what drowning feels like,'_ he thought darkly to himself.

"Hey, shit Itachi, are you okay?" Deidara's outline appeared in front of him and he felt a cool hand against his forehead. Deidara was more intelligent than Itachi first took him for because he felt his head being pulled down and another being pressed against it. "Breathe with me. Large, deep breaths, un. Know what, when we get out of here, I'm going to fix you lunch, you've got to be starving," he jabbered.

Itachi knew instantly what the blond was doing, he was trying to distract him from the situation at hand. And amazingly, it was beginning to work. He concentrated on Deidara's slow, rhythmic breathing and the smell that hung in the air around them. Smelled like sandalwood and a faint underlying aroma of plums. Pretty soon, Itachi was back to breathing normally and Deidara retreated but staying close enough to reassure the older man of his presence.

"Thank you," Itachi murmured," I have this problem with small spaces…and the dark," he added with difficulty.

"Ah…" Deidara commented as if he knew all along and it was a normal occurrence.

Itachi glanced away, even though Deidara couldn't see his face in the blackness, a blush powdering his cheekbones. Sometimes he felt like such a weakling. "Don't tell anyone," he threatened in a low voice as an afterthought.

"Who would _I _tell, un?"

Itachi could practically hear the kid's smile. He settled back against the counter more comfortably and tapped his feet against the linoleum, contemplating the numerous ways to blackmail someone.

"What time does your cousin get off work?"

"Around 6, un."

1 hour down. 5 more hours left to go. This was going to be quite interesting.

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**Ending Note: You know what sucks. When you write down 16+ pages, type down seven and it ends up looking like 4 on here. . Feedback is accepted and even encouraged. Imagine that; who would have thunk it. :D**

**Mask of Mirage**


	3. It's Acceptance

**Phobia**

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**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: I'm updating though I told myself I wouldn't, not until my English papers were done. So much for my so-called willpower. Though I'll make all those who actually want to read this fic very happy they don't have to wait till the end of October. This chapter seemed long to me when I was writing it but it's probably really short; I'm sorry.**

**Mood Song: Had Enough by Breaking Benjamin**

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**Chapter Three: It's Acceptance**

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Itachi was dozing off when he heard the front door slam, jolting him upright from his relaxed position on the linoleum. Deidara must have heard it too because he launched at the door from the edge of the bathtub, banging both fists sharply against the aged wood.

"Stuck in the bathroom again?" Sasori's voice rang from the opposite side of the door.

"Just let us out, asshole, un!"

A scraping sound was then heard and a low, deep chuckling. "Us? Who do you have in there with you cousin? That's real romantic, being locked in the bathroom and all."

"It's just Itachi and before you jump to any perverted conclusions, it's a long story built around the awesome-ness of bird intestines," Deidara replied, tapping his fingers impatiently against the door frame. A loud click was heard from the other side and the door swung open with a creak, revealing a very smug-looking Sasori with a screwdriver.

"Right, bird intestines, I'll take your word for it."

Itachi hurled his form out of the opening, relieved to be rid of the small, dark, black hole that was the bathroom. He followed the blond boy into the living room, who was talking animatedly in low whispers to the redhead. Curious as to what they were discussing, Itachi eavesdropped in, catching the words, "not gay" and "you're going to scare him off."

The brunet glanced around the living room, making sure Katsu wasn't tucked away high on a bookshelf, waving a furry leg at him. Jingling his keys in his pocket, he interrupted the two arguing males with a nervous cough. "I guess I'll be going now," he announced, making his way to the door.

"All right, see you later, un," Deidara paused for a split second before turning back to Sasori.

The elevator ride back to ground floor seemed longer than it did going up and it caused Itachi to pace nervously in front of the metal doors. Years of practice allowed him to ride in the deathtraps, usually crammed in like sardines with 30 other suits, without hyperventilating but his nerves were already shot from his episode earlier.

He found himself sprinting to his parked car as soon as the doors announced his arrival with a drowsy ding. Once inside the safety of his automobile, he cranked up the volume to his favorite band (The Used, if you must know, favorite song: Blue and Yellow) and tried to drown out the annoying thoughts doing calisthenics in his head. It wasn't everyday he slummed with someone, by far, poorer than he, made a complete whimpering wad of dork of himself and managed to ,somehow, get insulted possibly all at the same time.

And what was with him slumming in the first place? Yes, he could have dropped the bag off and left but he chose to stay. Was he so socially reclusive that he was forced to seek out new friends in the most unlikely of places? Yet, he could already tell Deidara was an intelligent person; someone he could talk to without having the urge to strangle him for saying something stupid or simple-minded.

He was still impressed at how the blond handled his panic attack; most people would have laughed and teased or panicked themselves. This was someone he could possibly befriend and spend quality time with.

Itachi had had only one friend in his life and that happened to be his older cousin, Obito. Before he died, they had spent every waking second together. Then that one faithful night, their car went over a ravine and Itachi stumbled from the wreckage into the shadowy woods, hence the phobia of the dark. Obito didn't survive the crash. See how bitchy Fate could be?

In many ways, Naruto reminded Itachi of his late best friend, their bright-n-sunshiney demeanor were pretty much the same. It also was probably the reason he could tolerate the orange-wearing, boisterous teenager to the extent that he did.

But that was a long time ago and since then he had closed himself up like an oyster, hiding away himself like the precious pearl within. He no longer allowed people to get close to him, with the exception of Sasuke, and spent the majority of his time solely dedicated to his work. He still kept in contact with his old college roommate, Kisame, but they didn't exactly have a matching-friendship-bracelet relationship.

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The guard at the gate tipped his head slightly to welcome the sleek, yellow sports car and Itachi lifted two fingers from the steering wheel in response. His house glared down at him, a red staccato Spanish-type, as he parked in the drive. His family was ridiculously well-off, kudos to the thousands of dollars Mr. Uchiha brought in, the majority of which he "borrowed legally" from the company. If anyone knew about his financial scandal, they didn't say anything. Fugaku had many friends in high places; no one dared to expose him.

One of their newer maids, whose name Itachi could not pronounce, met him at the door, her hand extended for any bags or coats. He jogged up the tall, marble staircase when a loud, booming voice stopped him in his tracks. A large, heavyset woman dressed in a bright-colored apron had one hand on the banister, a look of pure determination set on her features. Ms. Takada, Itachi and Sasuke's live-in nanny and cook, was perhaps the nicest, most sweetest person you would ever meet. Practically the mother they grew up with; was the only person who sat up with Itachi after Obito's death while the rest of the family took care of all the legal matters.

"And just where do you think you're running off to without having eating some of the food I spent all day fixing for you?"

Itachi sighed and walked back down, his stomach growling loudly at the mention of food. Ms. Takada smiled warmly at him and motioned for him to follow her into the kitchen.

"You did not spend all day fixing my dinner," Itachi reasoned, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I did not. There's fried rice and an egg roll in the microwave; the kind that comes from a box," she admitted, smiling cheekily.

Itachi retrieved his food and sat at the bar, facing the elderly woman. He grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the bowl in the middle of the table and began to eat, his stomach grumbling happily. Ms. Takada leaned against the bar, resting her elbows upon the surface.

"So doll, how did life treat you today?" she inquired jovially.

This was a ritual of theirs; since they were children in grade school she would ask Sasuke and him the same question and they would respond truthfully. There was no point in lying to her, she could always see through it.

"I met someone," Itachi said around a mouthful of rice.

"Oh, a girl?" Ms. Takada questioned with a mischievous wink.

"No, a guy…a friend," he added quickly, not wanting her to get the wrong idea.

She seemed a little taken aback though she tried her best to hide it. Itachi granted her that; it was unusual for him to say he met a new friend. "I met him on the bus and then today, I stayed over at his apartment."

The older woman backed up till she reached the opposite counter, her eyes wide. "Who are you and what have you done with Itachi?" she asked in mock surprise.

Itachi smirked and stood, pushing his empty bowl away. Walking over to the old woman, he kissed her cheek. "Thanks for lunch, Mom."

He hadn't gotten very far down the hall when his father came rushing past, his secretary close on his heels. "Itachi, walk with me," he commanded, without looking up from the paper he was studying. Itachi sighed audibly and spun on his heel, following his father to his office.

"There's a problem with shipping. If we don't get our shipment in by 6 o'clock tonight, we're not going to get it all," he explained, tossing the paper on top of his already cluttered desk.

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Head down to the warehouse and see what's taking them. Since you're my son they'll probably listen to you better than anyone else I send. I don't care what you have to do just get those shipments in!"

"Who am I to speak to exactly?" Itachi questioned nonchalantly, already growing tired of his father's rant.

"Tall fellow with red-orange hair, goes by the name of Pein."

Having all the information he needed, Itachi stalked out of the office, not really caring if his father was still speaking or not. The old man had ruined his good mood and he found himself glaring at the maid whom he instantly felt sorry for when her bright, cheery expression turned downcast.

The warehouse where the company's supplies came in was located along the harbor, just south of the East District. It was not a neighborhood he liked to travel alone, too many men out looking for other men.

Catch my drift.

Itachi wasn't a homophobe by no means, he believed that love came in many different forms and people alike; he just didn't think he was the kind of guy to show weaknesses, especially around members of the same sex. And the road he was currently traveling down was chock-full of weaknesses. Why else would grown men loiter in the streets, clad in ass-less chaps or worse? Something was definitely wrong with this neighborhood. It was like no one cared about their own well-being anymore. They'd rather throw away all their modesty and ambitions for a night of one-night stands and drugs.

Itachi jammed the lock mechanism on the door when a young male, not much older than Sasuke, sauntered up to his car. The brunet shook his head politely when the boy tapped at his wrist and held up his palm, indicating that he would give up his free will for an hour for the meager price of 50 dollars. Itachi wanted nothing more to roll down his window and tell the kid to go home, hug his mama, go to bed and stay in school but he merely inclined his head in a departing gesture and sped up, leaving the boy, and a few others who had gathered, standing in the street.

Approaching the large, steel-enforced building, Itachi noticed that the motion light was activated, lighting the parking lot with a sort of eerie luminosity. A fresh sea breeze that drifted in from the harbor assaulted his senses as he stretched his legs, his door alarm making a soft beep as he locked it. A built man with slicked-back gray hair leaned up against the warehouse door, calmly toking on a cigarette and eyeing him with an air of suspicion.

"Your business?" he asked hoarsely, flicking his cigarette to the pavement and crushing it with the heel of his steel-toed leather boots.

"Itachi Uchiha, I'm here to speak with Pein," Itachi replied coolly, trying not to be intimidated by the large man.

"That's nice, and I'm the fucking Easter Bunny. When is the birthday of Fugaku's youngest?"

"July 23," the brunet answered without hesitation. These sort of briefings were so monotonous; they always asked about Sasuke. Either it was his birthday or the true color of his eyes. (Sasuke had taken to wearing lime green contacts even though Itachi claimed he looked like an alien.) Duh, they were the same color as his! Also, they failed to realize that if anyone cared enough to do their homework, they could recite Sasuke's social security if they so wished.

The man eyed him with a scrutinizing gaze, his curiously silver-hued orbs flashing with suspicion. Before he could open his mouth though, the door he was leaning upon swung open suddenly and a second man emerged. He was tall, yet leaner than the gray-haired man. Painstakingly detailed tattoos, that closely resembled stitches, adorned his pale skin and his dark eyes were set far back in his face.

"Hidan," he drawled, "quit pestering the kid, Pein's done cleared him."

He stepped back, opening the door wider for Itachi to pass through. Itachi nodded his head at Hidan, who grunted disapprovingly. He allowed a small smirk to cross his features as he was led through the main room, weaving in and out between hundreds upon hundreds of wooden crates. The stitch-man veered off to the right down a long hallway, stopping to knock on the first door that they came to.

A shuffling was heard from the other side and Itachi found himself face-to-face with the most unusual colored eyes he had ever seen. They were a dark stormy gray, normal enough, but embedded in the irises was a pale pink pigment that left the Uchiha wondering if they were natural or contacts.

"Ah, Fugaku must be mighty impatient to send you all the way over here," the owner of the eyes spoke. Itachi started slightly in his spot; the man's voice was so deep it seemed to rock the very concrete foundation beneath their feet. Allowing his eyes to travel down, he settled on six identical piercing that protruded from the bridge of the man's nose.

Wow, those looked like they had hurt…a lot, in fact.

"Well come in, unless you would rather talk in the hall," Pein exclaimed, disappearing back behind his desk. "Now before you say anything, I already know why you're here and what I need to tell you to make you go away."

Itachi slid into one of the two leather chairs opposite the orange-haired man. This Pein fellow seemed like a straight-forward guy, not one to beat around the bush. Itachi's favorite.

"Now, Itachi you're a smart young man and I'm sure you know how the world works. We don't gain things without giving something in return."

His hand reached for a small wooden chest located on the edge of the table. Removing two cigars, Pein offered one to Itachi, who politely declined. He accepted the glass of scotch he held out next, allowing the warm liquid to trickle down his throat.

"The shipments will be in sometime this weekend. Nothing terribly wrong, just that our crates were too large to pass customs. Tell your father that all will be taken care of and he has nothing to worry about. I appreciate you stopping by," he finished, leaning back in his seat and interweaving his fingers.

Itachi downed the rest of his scotch in one final gulp, wincing inwardly as it stung somewhere deep in his chest. Something wasn't right. Pein talked way too fast, obvious by the way he was rushing Itachi out, and his story didn't quite add up. Since when had his father begun getting shipments in out of the country? He could already tell he was going to have to do some side work to understand all this mess.

Back outside, Itachi slid into the driver's seat of his car, ignoring the blatant stare Hidan shot him and sped back towards town. The East District was a lot more crowded than before and Itachi slowly weaved himself in and out between the masses. Turning up the stereo to an uncomfortable decibel, he tried to focus on the lyrics, growling quietly in frustration.

Why the hell would his father send him on some errand-boy task when he possibly knew all along why they shipments were late? He was sick and tired of being Fugaku's doormat, someone he could walk all over and not feel a thing.

Above the screaming of his stereo, he suddenly heard a shout ring through the muggy night air. On instinct, he slowed down and looked at the source. He stared in shock at the sight before him. A man dressed in tight black jeans and a t-shirt was practically hanging off another struggling individual with familiar blond hair.

"I SAID NO!" Deidara yelled, breaking free from the stranger's grasp and landing a nasty left hook to his jaw. The man doubled back but came again, something strangely shiny glinting in his fist.

"Shit," Itachi cursed quietly, his body acting on auto-pilot and throwing itself out his door. He slammed into the man, knocking him off-balance.

Grabbing Deidara's hooded sweatshirt, he propelled him to the open driver's door and all but threw him in. As the blond situated his body over the console, Itachi put his vehicle into gear and sped away, leaving the strange man and his knife standing on the sidewalk. He jacked up the stereo till he could feel the thump of the speakers beneath his feet and stared straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel till his knuckles were a ghostly white.

"What the fuck were you doing on the East District?" he yelled, his voice coming out harsh and brutal.

"None of your damn business, un!" Deidara responded in kind, his face contorting in anger.

"Is that how you earn extra money, whoring yourself out to random strangers!?"

He noticed the boy flinch and ball up his fists. Itachi dared him to hit him, he'd beat the living shit out of the kid just to teach him a lesson.

"It's not like that," he ground out finally, turning his body to stare out the window.

"Then what is it? Men only go to that neighborhood for one thing and one thing only," Itachi questioned, the hardness not quite leaving his voice.

"Go to hell," Deidara muttered, studying his knuckles which were still red from the punch he landed. Itachi slammed on his brakes causing Deidara to lurch forward and crash into the dashboard. "Shit, fine, look," he cursed, reaching into his pocket and throwing a baggie filled with snow-white powder onto the middle console.

"You…deal?" Itachi asked, a little sheepish that he accused Deidara of prostituting when all he was doing was selling crack.

"It's just to earn a little extra money for stuff around the house, I don't do it, un." He grabbed the bag and stuffed it back into his pocket and leaned back against the door.

"Why did you hit that guy back there," Itachi finally asked once they were back on the road. There was a soft snort beside him.

"Why do you think? I'm not a prostitute and I'm not gay. Why were you on the east side anyways, un?"

"Well, I'm not dealing and I'm certainly not a homosexual; was doing business for my father," Itachi smirked, pulling onto Deidara's street for the second time that day.

"You have no right to judge the way I live," the blond muttered, throwing the door open.

"Go to class tomorrow," Itachi replied with a sarcastic smile. Deidara slammed the door with more force than necessary and leaned back in the window.

"You're an asshole, un."

He then stalked off towards his building, his blond hair blowing across his shoulders. Itachi pulled away from the curb; Deidara's last words reverberating in his brain. Itachi was cold and calculating in life, viewing the rest of the world as a hindrance and just another obstacle in his way. It wasn't the first time someone called him a name nor would it be the last.

So why was it when he supposedly didn't care, this boy's fruitless words unsettled him deeply? Leaving a ripped feeling in his stomach where something important was supposed to take it's place.

* * *

**Author's Note: My word processor says this is 12 pages so if it comes out looking like 5, I'm sorry. A plot is taking hold slowly but surely. And why is Itachi feeling so down and out over a simple sentence?**

**Mask of Mirage**


	4. Ich Bin Nicht Ich

**Phobia**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments:****I know my profile says I wouldn't be updating till the end of October but I have a slight break in my schoolwork so I thought I would spit out another chapter. Next chapter there will be a greater profiling of Deidara, more than the measly amount I put in here. I might write it in his point of view, although it would break the consistency of my previous chapters. The jury is still out on that because I want at least one of my characters to be… in character. Just in case I end up horribly botching Itachi.**

**Mood Song: Heilig by Tokio Hotel**

* * *

**Chapter Four: Ich Bin Nicht Ich**

* * *

The following week Itachi awoke one morning to find a pair of highlighter green eyes staring him down. Groaning pathetically, he grabbed a pillow and shoved it in his brother's face and rolled over, all in one motion. There was a slight weight on his back and feathery puffs of warm air against his neck, causing goosebumps to pop up over his skin.

"Sasuke, get off and leave me alone," he mumbled groggily into his pillow.

The younger Uchiha drummed his fingers against the back of his head and shifted his weight to his knees. "Well, alright but you're going to be late for work," he replied in a sing-song voice.

Immediately, Itachi was up and running about his bedroom, pulling on a pair of black slacks and a white dress-shirt. Sasuke smirked happily from his position on the bed. Itachi paused mid-hop, one leg still out of his pants, and frowned at his younger brother.

"You're not late, I just wanted your bed," the younger Uchiha said nonchalantly.

Itachi narrowed his eyes and stalked off to his bathroom across the room. The sound of running water could be heard shortly after. In the bathroom, Itachi yawned drowsily and lined his toothbrush with Crest. There was a rustle behind him and he could see Sasuke in the mirror, casually leaning against the door frame.

"Something I can help you with?" Itachi questioned around a mouthful of toothpaste. He watched with mild amusement as a wicked blush crept up the boy's face and he moved to sit on the closed toilet lid, tapping his bare feet nervously.

"Lemme guess," Itachi said, rinsing out his mouth and replacing his toothbrush, " you have a crush on someone and you're too scared to tell them."

Sasuke shifted on the seat and stared at a spot on the wall, his face becoming impossibly redder. Or maybe it only seemed that way because he was so pale. Quietly, he uttered an incoherent mumble and flicked the toilet paper roll, obviously embarrassed.

"So, what's her name?"

"Umm…well it's not really a…and it's oneofmyteachers," he muttered in response, averting his green eyes.

Itachi let the comb, which he was brushing his hair with, drop to the countertop with a loud click. His face began to do a de-evolution of expressions, growing strangely pink in the end. "Which teacher is this?" he finally mustered up the courage to ask.

"My drama teacher…Kakashi-sensei. He's making us act out a scene from one of his smutty novels and out of the whole class he picked me to do the lead part," Sasuke explained, twiddling his thumbs and all-around acting like a love-sick teenager.

Itachi's eye began to twitch sporadically and a cruel smile began to spread slowly over his face. "Get your shoes and bag, otouto, I'm driving you to school."

* * *

"Aniki, please! You're embarrassing me!" Sasuke wailed, pulling on his older brother's arm, trying desperately to get the determined man out of his school.

"It's not a bad scene! He wouldn't make us act something like that at school!"

This only proved to make Itachi push harder through the crowd, his goal: the drama room at the end of the hall. Bursting into the room, Itachi's presence caused the occupants of the classroom look up from their books.

"You're late Uchiha," a man behind the front desk said. Itachi glanced over him, from the tips of his unusual grey hair to his concealed face, hidden by a dark, maroon scarf. Sasuke tiptoed to his seat at the back, a blush staining his cheeks.

"May I help you?" Kakashi asked, standing from his chair and moving towards him.

"Yes, in fact you can."

"Aniki…" Sasuke pleaded one last time seconds before Itachi brought his knee up into the older man's groin. Kakashi hit the floor with a grunt, his hands cupping his privates in pain.

"Don't touch my little brother," Itachi muttered before stalking out, leaving the classroom in an uproar.

The drive to work was calm and relaxing; well as relaxing as a four-block traffic jam can be. Unfortunately, this relaxation was short-lived when one of his father's many assistants ushered him immediately to the conference room upon his arrival.

Great, another 2 hour lecture to drool through.

They were in the middle of stock percentage errors when Itachi was excused from the group via a message telling him there was someone in the floor lobby waiting for him. He grabbed his jacket and winked at a less-fortunate co-worker who eyed him enviously. Itachi nearly had a brain aneurysm when he saw who was waiting for him.

Lounging comfortably on the large, black leather couch was Deidara, flipping calmly through a Sports Illustrated.

"Just what the hell are you doing here?" Itachi demanded, thumping the boy's boot.

"Please, I probably saved you from some boring meeting that held no great importance and you probably didn't want to be at anyway, un," the blond replied, tossing his magazine back onto the end table.

Itachi sputtered audibly, his brow furrowing in annoyance. Damn, he had hit the nail right on the head.

"Want lunch?" Deidara inquired, breaking him from his quiet reverie.

"Uh…what?"

Deidara blinked and smirked evilly. "Would you like to go someplace and engage in activity of the eating kind between the hours of 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., un?"

'_Smartass,'_ Itachi thought dryly. Twenty minutes later they were standing outside a small, Indian restaurant. "You really eat this stuff?" Itachi asked once they were seated and given two menus, all of which he couldn't understand.

Deidara made a noncommittal noise and turned his menu around, his index finger placed on a dish Itachi couldn't, for the life of him, pronounce.

"Get this. Anything else and you'll get indigestion and heartburn, un. Your stomach isn't used to all this rich food."

By this time, the waitress had arrived and Itachi gawked as Deidara prattled off their orders with a perfect accent. She smiled warmly, the ruby-colored pigmentation in her forehead shining under the dim lighting, and rushed off to get their food. Across from him, Deidara drank his Pepsi through a straw, idly doodling on the edge of his napkin.

"Okay, let's see it. Where's your tail?"

Deidara glanced up, blinking slowly, his straw still dangling from between his teeth. "Excuse me?" he questioned incredulously.

"Well, you keep surprising me this far along, I wonder what else you got up your sleeve? Why is that?" Itachi explained, a sudden nervous feeling creeping into his stomach.

"Do you really want to hear my life story, un?" Itachi nodded, leaning forward on his elbows expectantly.

"Well, I was born in Magdeburg, Germany. My mom raised me by herself until she died of cancer when I was 9. I lived at an orphanage in India till I was 15 and then came to live here in Japan with Sasori, un. And that is my novel in life so far," he said very quickly, latching back onto his straw.

Itachi was too stunned to respond; Deidara had spent his whole life jumping homes…and continents! Yet, he didn't seem to harbor any grudge at life and the cruel hand of cards it dealt him. Their food had arrived by then and Itachi began to eat his slowly, which turned out to be a stir-fry of some sort. It _was_ rich and somewhat spicy but good.

"So…you can speak German?" the raven finally asked, attempting to break the silence that had settled over them. Deidara looked up once more from his food, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.

"Ja," the blond replied, stabbing a vegetable with his fork.

* * *

"You know the whole holier-than-thou attitude you have is really starting to piss me off."

"Just because I paid for lunch doesn't give you the right to throw a bitch-fit," Itachi reasoned, ignoring the icy glare Deidara threw him.

"I am _not_ throwing a bitch-fit! I invited _you_ out to lunch; _I_ should be the one to get the tab, un!"

Itachi glanced over from the steering wheel to witness Deidara's childish pout; his arms crossed over his chest. The blond suddenly reached over and flipped on the radio, settling on a station Itachi never went to. He listened as a group of men rapped about killing chickens and someone's neck being blown all over a shed.

"What is this shit?" he inquired, wrinkling his nose at the violent lyrics.

"Insane Clown Posse, I think," the blond mumbled, averting his eyes out the window. Fluidly, Itachi reached between them and changed it to a station he liked, noticing the collective sigh next to him. Deidara was just going to have to deal; it was his car, his radio.

A sudden chill crept up his neck and in his peripheral vision he could see the blond staring at him with such intensity that something unrecognizable dropped inside him and settled down around his lower abdomen. A strange heat followed shortly after and Itachi hoped desperately it was the spicy Indian cuisine he ate earlier.

He was suddenly hyper-aware of every little noise inside the car and all outside interference faded away. Fuck Kami, what was happening to him? His world was spinning and he wanted off now, off this weird little acid trip he was experiencing. Deidara frowned slightly and broke eye contact causing Itachi to jolt back to reality and turn back to the road.

"Do you need a ride somewhere?" the raven muttered, his voice strangely hoarse.

"Yeah, I'd appreciate a ride to my university," the blond boy replied.

To say Itachi sped would be a gross understatement. He didn't know what happened back there nor did he have any desire to. All he was sure of was that he wanted this kid out of his car as soon as humanly possible. He came to a screeching halt in front of the campus, reacquainting Deidara with the dashboard.

"Where's the fire?" he heard the boy mutter.

As he leaned into the back seat to get his bag, --which Itachi didn't even realize he had in the first place-- their arms brushed and a fiery tingle, like when you rub on Icy Hot, shot through his shoulder and parallel to his spinal column. Would the torture never stop?

Deidara stepped out and slammed the door after a hasty good-bye and rushed across the front lawn to his class. Itachi stalled by the curb, listening to his engine turn over.

What in the seven hells were these uncomfortable feelings? He was never eating Indian food again.

* * *

**Author's Note: Let the attraction begin… Not my longest chapter and I thought it a bit rushed so I apologize.**

**Naruto Manga Spoilers:**

**Does anyone agree with me that Pein's new identity/body looks like a cheap, albeit sexier, replica of Ino? **

**Ah, Masashi-sama has grown redundant. We should rally to his support by sending him love-mail.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	5. Typical

**Phobia**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: This isn't probably very long but I felt that those patiently waiting for an update should get one. I also want to get this chapter out of the way so I can begin on my new brainchild, which will be out by late November, at the latest. Updates for _Carnal Attraction_ are slow in coming but I promise you, I'm working on it. School sucks; let's leave it at that.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Typical**

Deidara flopped onto his bed, his ponytail swinging around to tickle his nose. Although his window unit was set on sixty-five, the room was stifling. Stripping down to his boxers and undershirt, he spread himself over the bed, relishing in the feel of the cool comforter against his bare skin.

After lunch, Deidara found that he couldn't pay attention in class, his thoughts constantly straying to a tall individual with raven-colored hair. There had been some intense electricity between them on the ride to his school and Deidara swore Itachi nearly drove into a telephone pole.

Twice.

He had started acting so weird; staring at him till it made Deidara want to yell at him to keep his eyes on the road. And then when he reached into the back to grab his backpack, Itachi stiffened in his seat and Deidara could feel the man's warm breath against his neck.

A strange fluttering had appeared in his chest and he hopped out of the car like it was on fire. He huffed quietly into his pillow and beat his fists on the mattress.

What was wrong with him? How did he allow someone to crash headlong into his world and flip it all upside down and inside out? He was stronger than that; he had taught himself better than to trust in a complete stranger. He hadn't put faith in someone since his mother died.

A wave of bitter nostalgia swept over him and he curled into a ball on his bed. He could faintly feel the warm pulse behind his eyes and he closed them, allowing the memory to surface.

_Flashback:_

_Deidara could hear the doctor speaking on the phone in a hushed whisper, the attending nurse gripped his hand tightly. _

_Something was wrong._

_He had overheard a lot of talk about the cancer attacking her spinal column and entering her brain but he was too young to comprehend and held onto the childish hope that Mama would get better soon._

_The nurse stood silently, pulling him along with her. They stood outside the closed hospital door, not twenty feet away was his Mama, lying in a great white bed, hooked up to tubes and machines, barely clinging to life._

_"Okay son, listen closely. Your mother had a pretty rough night last night so she may be a bit confused or out of it. Don't speak too much to her and avoid making loud noises," the doctor informed him, opening the door._

_Deidara approached the bed and the ghostly-white figure it contained._

_"Mama, it's me, Dei-Dei, un," he whispered not quite sure what to say. Slowly, her bruised eyelids fluttered open and she stared at him, into him, with blank eyes. Her mouth cracked open, three words escaping that caused Deidara's world to come crashing down._

_End Flashback_

Deidara awoke to his air-conditioner humming softly, the sound of food sizzling in the kitchen as Sasori fixed dinner for the two of them. Something wet trickled down his cheek and slipped into the curve of his mouth. He wiped it away, grimacing at the wetness he found there. The memory always stopped at that scene and because it was so long ago he had forgotten what his mother's last words to him were, all he knew was that they hurt.

Life was sure funny like that. She had died later that evening.

* * *

Itachi punched in the numbers his father's secretary gave him and waited for someone on the other end to pick up. After what seemed like the thousandth ring, a cheerful sounding young woman clicked on.

"Hello, I'm Mitshida Watari from the office of Fugaku Uchiha. Could you tell me if any of our shipments have been passed through lately?"

"One moment please," she replied and Itachi could faintly hear her tapping away at her keyboard. "Watari-san," she came back on, "this month's shipment will be sent out at 2 tomorrow morning."

Itachi frowned slightly and tapped his pen against the edge of his desk. "One more thing," he inquired, "where are these crates coming from?"

"Um, our warehouse on the other side of the Akihabara District, where they've always been shipped from."

Itachi thanked her and hung up the phone. Things weren't adding up. Pein had said he would make sure those shipments would be in by the weekend and here it was, the middle of the next week and they were arriving early tomorrow morning.

What's more is if the crates had been coming in from the same place, why were they having to go through out-of-country customs? Suddenly it hit him like a brick of lead and he began to furiously tap away at his computer. Shortly after, he had hacked into the Japanese Ministry of Defense and had Pein's permanent record staring him in the face.

…_.drug-running….fraud. 1991 suspect in the murder of Namikaze, Minato and Uzumaki, Kushina…classified highly dangerous…_

Itachi's stomach dropped like a rock and he could feel bile rising up in his throat.

…_murder…Uzumaki…._

Uzumaki….

Naruto…

"Shit," he breathed quietly. He knew Naruto's parents were murdered and the young 16-year old lived with the pain of it everyday but never in his wildest dreams did he expect to stand in front of and speak to the murderer himself.

'Suspect, just a suspect,' his mind reasoned with him in order to pacify the oncoming panic attack. Whether Pein murdered Naruto's parents or not, Itachi still had to find out about the 'nonexistent' shipments. He glanced at the clock on his desk, the red second hand ticking rhythmically about its axis.

Only 4:16; 44 minutes till he was able to get off, granted his father didn't want him to work extra hours at the office. Idly, his fingers tapped once more and another face popped up onto the screen, a face he recognized, and at times disliked immensely.

_Minor charges…misdemeanors consisting of vandalism, trespassing of private property, DUI, and resisting of arrest…_

Itachi allowed a small smile to creep across his face. Typical teenage delinquent, indeed. It was a classic mug-shot picture but unlike most mug-shots, Deidara was smiling and sticking his tongue out at the camera; complete with a nasty-looking purple bruise beneath his right eye. His visible blue eye was swollen and bloodshot but it still held that amazing luminosity it seemed to carry around everywhere.

Itachi shut off his monitor and buried his head in his arms. Too many incidents in one day had caused his brain to collapse into a jumbled array of emotions. Just when he was beginning to doze off into a peaceful slumber, a soft knock sounded at his door.

Anko, on of his father's main secretaries, stood at the threshold, in the process of releasing her short, dark hair from its clip on the top of her head.

"Fugaku says you can leave early and that he'll see you after dinner," she dictated.

Itachi sighed in relief and gathered up his things. He nodded to Anko before racing out the door. Once he was in his car, he dialed a number quickly on his cell phone, listening to it ring once, twice.

"Yea," a voice said on the third ring.

"This is Itachi. So, Kisame, do you have anything planned for tonight?"

* * *

"So, what are we doing here again?" Kisame questioned impatiently, tapping his crowbar against his palm.

Itachi scanned the building from the safety of his car. There were no watches outside but that didn't mean there weren't cameras. Up above the door, hidden beneath the rafter was a small black object. Removing a silver device from his pocket, he aimed it at the camera and clicked the small button on top.

"What's that do?" Kisame questioned, eyeing the device warily.

"I got it as a gift from one of my father's highly-esteemed co-workers. It sends out a invisible electric current that pretty much just fried their surveillance system, at least on this side of the warehouse anyway," Itachi explained, smiling smugly.

He stepped out of his car and crept quietly to the door, Kisame following suit. Upon twisting the doorknob he found it locked, something he had expected.

"Do you have a blade of some sort on you?"

Kisame fished around in his pockets for a moment, eventually pulling out a small pocket knife. Itachi flicked open the weapon and jammed it into the doorframe. A soft 'click' later and the door swung open, revealing a dark, empty warehouse.

"Okay, we're looking for crates that are addressed to my father's company," Itachi explained, switching on his flashlight he brought in from the car.

"You're kidding, right?"

When Itachi shook his head negative, Kisame let out a long, low whistle. They were going to be here for awhile. After what seemed like half an hour later, Itachi had progressed to row 6A and still no sign of the crates. Just when he was about to give up, something that closely resembled his surname caught his eye. Shining his flashlight on the box, he sighed in utter relief and called out for Kisame. His light shined down from the upstairs floor, quickly making its way to Itachi.

"Now what?" the strangely-hued man inquired, out of breath.

"We break it open," the raven replied.

He stood back as Kisame wedged the crowbar between the two boards and pulled upwards. The crate made a sickening groan as nails shot loose and fell to the pavement floor. Itachi stepped closer with his flashlight, ready to bare the mystery the crate held within it. His eyes widened to an enormous size as the two beams of light fell on thousands upon thousands of carefully wrapped baggies.

"Holy shit," Kisame breathed out beside him, "that is a helluva lot of weed!"

**Comments: Woah, so that's what was in those crates? -insert Twilight Zone theme song-**

**Mask of Mirage**


	6. I'm No Superman

**Phobia**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: Sorry for the wait but I just hadn't been in the mood to write anymore on any of my stories. November Crimson**** took a lot out of me and that's really sad, considering it's a one-shot. But I'm back with another update and I hope those who are reading are not unhappy with what I have, because to me it's just complete and utter crap pulled straight from my ass. And I barely looked over it so please ignore the grammatical mistakes that you find.**

**Mood Song: All the Same by Sick Puppies. **

**Disclaimer: Sometimes I delude myself into believing I own this but the sad truth of the matter is, I don't.**

* * *

**Chapter 6: I'm No Superman**

* * *

It had been nearly a month since Itachi unraveled his father's web of lies and things were becoming hectic around the office and the house. The Feds were investigating the squandered wages that most of the employees were beginning to notice missing from their paychecks.

Itachi's own life was confusing in itself, he hadn't seen nor talked to Deidara since the last time they saw each other. Problem was that he was already starting to miss the sarcastic comments and crooked smiles. Since when did he become dependent on someone to secure his own happiness?

To Itachi it was a totally useless feeling to have. Deidara wasn't anything to him despite the strange flutterings he felt in his body when the boy was around. Twice he entertained the idea that he was attracted to the loud teenager but that thought shortly fell through when he reasoned with himself that he wasn't gay. It was just post-hormonal tendencies that he was experiencing, nothing more.

He had taken a drive to clear his thoughts that were all crammed together inside his head. Itachi had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that the police were going to find out about the drugs and the media was going to blow it way out of proportion, as they always did.

He could care less what people though of him, it was Sasuke he was worried about. He knew that his brother valued his image highly in school and it would be hard for him if he had to go with the ghost of his father's drug-running overshadowing his back.

Without intending to do so, Itachi stalled his car in front of a familiar apartment building and glanced up. Somewhere, five stories up, behind walls of dry-wall, lay a person Itachi, for the life of him, could not get out of his head. Maybe he was meant to be there. Who knows?

Heaving a frustrated sigh, Itachi put his car into gear and pulled away from the curb, his tires squealing in protest. Unbeknownst to him, up high above the city streets, a simple blue curtain fell back into place, the cool night air ruffling the ends gently.

* * *

The pungent smell of hot dogs and cotton candy assaulted his senses as he weaved through the thick crowd. The bright neon lights blinded him and the annoying melody of carnival music blasted his eardrums. He had long since lost Sasuke and Naruto in the masses but Itachi was sure he would call or text when he was ready to leave. A small child with an elephant balloon bumped into him and Itachi stopped and pressed himself up against one of the bases of the Ferris wheel.

The crowd was oppressing and Itachi wanted nothing more than to go home an curl up in bed with a good movie. Call him a chick, if you will. He felt his stomach turn and he hadn't even rode the rides yet, not that he actually would anyways.

A shout rang out, high and clear, above the buzz of the crowd and Itachi craned his head in the direction of the source. He felt his heart metaphorically skitter up his throat as he broke out in a dead run. Deidara was slammed up against a vacant concession stand and Itachi got there just in time to see the man's brass-lined knuckles slam into the blond boy's face. The fist reared back for a second blow but Itachi shoved the man aside using strength from some unknown source.

Latching onto Deidara's wrist, Itachi drug him away, weaving fast between bodies. Jumping the line going into the House of Mirrors, Itachi led the teenager into the dimly-lighted building. Upon reaching an area that was pretty much devoid of children, Itachi sunk to his knees, bringing Deidara with him.

"You okay?" he questioned, concerned when the blond held his hands to his face and moaned softly.

"You must think you're a regular fucking superhero, don't you?!" Deidara spat, bringing his hands down and punching Itachi hard in the chest. "Why are you always fucking around, un?"

Itachi bit back his retort and surveyed the damage done to the boy's face. A gash spread from his right earlobe to the corner of his eye and a light purplish tint was already beginning to show around the area. It was going to be one ugly bruise in the morning.

Itachi dug in his coat pocket for a napkin, which he knew he put in there earlier from lunch, and searched the area around him. Someone had spilt their soda in the corner and the raven reached over a grabbed a piece of ice that hadn't already melted. Bringing it to Deidara's cheek, the boy let out a hiss of pain and instinctively moved out of reach.

"Shit, that burns, un," he cursed but Itachi grasped his chin and pulled him closer, moving the piece of ice over the gash to stop the bleeding. Using the napkin, he wiped away the moisture left behind, avoiding Deidara's icy cobalt glare and the strange lurches his heart was making.

He noticed a few water droplets that were sliding down his jaw and he wiped them away with his thumb before they could drip down and stain the white wife-beater the blond wore. But before he could remove his fingers, Deidara grasped onto them and held them away from his face. Their eyes locked and Itachi's heart began to do somersaults at their close proximity. Deidara twisted his fingers till they were meshed together perfectly with Itachi's and now the raven's heart was dancing to Soulja Boy with his right kidney.

"Why aren't you cold?" he murmured in a moment of daft, infinite wisdom.

His question was not graced with a reply but graced instead with a pair of warm lips moving softly over his. There was no point in trying to stop the shudder that careened through his body but nevertheless he went rigid as the boy's lips ghosted over his own. The scent of sandalwood filled his sinuses and he came to the conclusion that someone's home smells like them and not the other way around.

Just as suddenly as the contact had come, it was gone and Deidara was standing above him, a flash of recognition in his eyes. Itachi could see the boy's tan cheeks were dusted with a pink hue. Rising unsteadily to his own feet, he ran a hand through his hair, at a loss for words. The gods must have been on his side that night, because his phone suddenly rang in his pocket, interrupting his train of thought.

"Hello," he said into the receiver, trying to make his voice sound more steady than he felt.

"Itachi, we're ready to go. We'll meet you at the car," Sasuke said from the other end.

Itachi closed his phone and slipped it back into his pocket. He turned his attention back to Deidara who was eyeing a spot on the floor. "Hey, um…hell, this is going to sound really weird, but would you like to stay over at my place tonight? Can't have your cousin seeing you all bashed up like this."

"I've come home in worse states than this, un," Deidara replied haughtily, his pride obviously taking a major blow.

"Just say yes. I have to leave anyway and I don't want to leave you here alone if that guy…"

"Fine," the blond snapped, pushing past Itachi toward the exit. Once outside, the raven decided that if you were going anywhere with a lot of people, it would be best to bring Deidara along for the ride. He swept through the crowd with the grace of a steam-roller, even going so far as to shove an elderly man with a walker, who in Itachi's opinion just needed to move.

He had barely clicked the unlock key as Deidara slumped into the front seat and slammed the door, blatantly ignoring the puzzled glare Sasuke shot the strange newcomer. Itachi motioned for the two younger teenagers to get in the back and he slid in behind the wheel.

The whole way home Deidara remained as silent as the grave, choosing instead to stare out the side window, his blond fringe obscuring his face from Itachi's view. He was clearly pissed at the raven, despite their quite intimate position not moments before. As Itachi allowed his mind to wander about the warm pressure he had felt on his lips, he nearly swerved into a parked car.

"Jeez, Itachi learn how to drive, will ya?" Naruto reprimanded from the back seat.

"Sorry," he mumbled softly, catching the cold, steely glare the blond boy next to him shot. His fingers clutched reflexively at the wheel in an attempt from slamming his foot on the brake and beating the hotheaded teenager into the ground.

Sasuke and Naruto must have sensed the angry tension in the car because as soon as they pulled up in front of the house, they scrambled out the back, leaving Itachi and Deidara alone in the silent vehicle.

"Hey look, when we get inside please try to act civil, I know you can," the Uchiha pleaded in a soft voice, hoping he wasn't offending the boy with his comment. Deidara shrugged off-handedly, not meeting Itachi's gaze. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

Now Deidara was fidgeting slightly in his seat, toying with the pocket of his black cargo pants. Itachi guessed he was worried that the Uchiha would ask why he kissed him. Although that particular question was on a need-to-know basis, if Itachi lacked anything in life it wasn't tact. He had avoided many awkward moments in his life due to not asking questions that would offend.

"Why is it that whenever I see you, someone is trying to beat the daylights out of you?"

Deidara's head shot up, obviously not expecting that to come out of Itachi's mouth. "Fuck, I don't know," his voice dropping to a whisper," I guess it's because I'm different, un."

"You're not different," Itachi tried to reassure the teen, who in turn smiled wryly.

"Well, for one, I have blond hair, something you don't see naturally here in Japan, and have trouble understanding your customs; that's enough reason for someone to ridicule someone else, un."

"That's a load of crap. You're only a victim if you make yourself look like one."

"I have an accent," Deidara said as a last resort to prove his point.

"I like your accent," Itachi mumbled, only realizing what he had admitted after he had said it. Deidara dropped his gaze to his lap, a blush beginning to paint his cheekbones. Rolling fluidly out of the car, he leaned back in through the window, a smirk gracing his features. "Are you going to give me a tour of your mansion or am I going to have to wander around by myself?"

Itachi felt like jabbing the younger male in the eye with his keys.

* * *

"Oh doll, that's going to look really bad. I'll get you some ice after dinner. Sasuke, iPod off at the table. Pace yourself Naruto, dear. Ita, pass the rice please."

Ms. Takada, in Itachi's opinion, was having entirely too much fun directing orders from the head of the table; the spot usually reserved for Fugaku but the eldest Uchiha was absent, something about too much work at the office. Silently, he shot her a playful glare from underneath his arm. The remainder of dinner went fairly quickly, stopping only when Naruto accidentally splashed broth in Sasuke's eye and he was forced to remove a contact, leaving him to scowl with a one lime, one onyx gaze.

"You're going to have to stay in my room tonight; our guest rooms are either being remodeled or used for storage," Itachi informed the blond trailing beside him.

"Do you think I could use your shower _Ita-kun?"_ Deidara crooned, obviously mocking but at the same time trying to look provocative. The action was dampened by the ice pack held to his face. Nevertheless, it made a strange beat drum in Itachi's heart. Weird.

"Through there," he replied, pointing at a door near them, "someone will have clothes for you when you get out."

Deidara looked a little down when Itachi didn't openly react when called by his pet name. The raven made a mental note to get him back later. As soon as Itachi's bedroom door closed behind him, he tore about the room, throwing clothes and paperwork in random drawers. He cautiously sniffed the air, hoping it didn't smell musty. Despite his mad flight of the bumblebee, he left his bed unmade; he wasn't that anal.

He was in the middle of putting in a movie when Deidara entered, dressed in red silk boxers, looking nothing short of freaked out. "That. Man. Frightens. Me." he exclaimed, dropping down on the black futon near the door. "You weren't kidding when you said there was going to be someone waiting, un. I open the shower curtain and BAM Alfred the Butler is standing in front of me holding a towel and these," he continues, pulling at the red silk. " I nearly punched his nose out the back of his skull! Silently, his face scrunched up into an adorable pout and his added under his breath, "He saw my special places, un."

Itachi smiled inwardly, relieved and yet surprised that Deidara was in a seemingly good mood. Which only meant….

"So Ita, what are we watching?" he questioned teasingly, moving casually to spread himself out over the raven's large bed. His loose golden hair spilled out over his shoulders and trickled in gentle waves across the comforter. He looked very feminine at the moment yet also extremely feral and masculine. Itachi sat on the edge of the bed, trying to ignore the weird clench in his chest.

He wasn't supposed to be feeling like this. It reminded him too much of how he felt around Obito. Once, when he was younger, he worked up the nerve to tell his cousin how he felt. Obito had only laughed and cuffed him lightly on the head, saying Itachi was his most favorite relative, why would he want to go ruining that when they already had something ten times as special? A sharp pang ran through his heart and he clenched his fists reflexively.

"Hey, are you okay, un?" a voice broke through his violet haze. Itachi looked over at the blond, whose face was contorted with worry. "I think you killed your remote, un," he pointed out softly, nodding his head toward Itachi's hand.

The Uchiha glanced down and realized he had, indeed, murdered his remote. It was split in half, a jumble of red and yellow wires the only thing keeping it from completely falling apart.

Itachi though ironically, like the remote, his life was barely hanging by a thread some days. Yet all rational thought escaped him as a pair of warm arms embraced him from behind.

"For what I'm about to say…please don't hate me. I just feel like I have to tell someone, anyone."

* * *

**Author's Note: Hm, somehow I feel that I keep drifting farther and farther away from the plot of this. Like I have one! I mean, I mentioned that Pein was more or less a suspect in the death of Naruto's parents. And yet I still haven't gotten around to explaining that. sigh This is a total do-over I swear. But I'll edit it when I'm done with it; if I do it now I'll get writer's block and meh, that sucks.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	7. Straight from Europe

**Phobia**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: **

**Comments: I'm watching Pride and Prejudice while watching this so I'm in quite the sappy mood. Which spells out wonderful things for all you readers who are ready to get to some romance. **

**Mood Song: 1000 Meere by Tokio Hotel (Their newest song; it's really pretty)**

**Disclaimer: Roses like wine, Violets like snow, I am too poor to own Naruto.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Straight from Europe**

The opening credits of the movie were just beginning but Itachi paid them no heed as he twisted his body to face the younger male. Deidara was staring intently at a pattern on the comforter, his brow creased in anxiety.

He suddenly emitted a strangled gasp and his hands flew to his face, fingers knotting in damp golden tresses. Itachi sprang to his side in alarm. Ever so slowly, his hands removed themselves from his face and he muttered something, probably obscene, in German.

"I…I j-just remembered something, un. S-something in my past that I had forgot and, now, still wish I did," he murmured.

Itachi watched in shock as two drops of liquid slid down his cheek, collecting at his jaw, and fell, making identical black spots on the blanket. Deidara took a deep shuddering breath and began, not trying to disguise the tremor in his voice.

"T-There was o-one night up at the hospital when m-my mom wasn't doing so well…"

_Flashback:_

_Deidara approached the bed and the ghostly-white figure it contained._

_"Mama, it's me, Dei-Dei, un," he whispered, not quite sure what to say. _

_Slowly, her bruised eyelids fluttered open and she stared at him, into him, with blank eyes. Her mouth cracked open, three words escaping that caused Deidara's world to come crashing down._

_"Who are you?"_

_End Flashback_

Deidara finished with a quiet whimper, hugging his knees to his chest and rocking back and forth slightly. His chin quivered and a steady onslaught of silent tears ran down his face, almost as if he were trying to suppress the human urge to show weakness. Itachi carefully pulled the blond boy towards him, wrapping his arms around the small of his back to hold him securely in place.

"Do you know how terrible that feels? To have the only family you have forget you just like that, un?" he murmured into Itachi's shoulder, wetting the fabric of his shirt with warm tears.

"She was sick, Deidara," Itachi reassured, rubbing soothing circles between the boy's shoulder blades.

"I know but you can't imagine how it feels to have someone forget your existence, especially when that someone was the only one you cared about, the only reason you woke up in the morning to face another day, un."

Itachi went to embrace the boy tighter but he pulled away, wiping furiously at his eyes. A strand of hair clung to his wet cheek and Itachi reached up and brushed it away, causing the blond's breath to hitch and a light blush form on his cheeks.

"Shit, un. I'm sorry for forcing you to listen to my sob story. Let's just watch the movie," he apologized quickly, stretching out on his stomach.

Itachi eyed the boy curiously before lying out next to him. They were about ten minutes into _Poltergeist_ when Itachi nudged the blond's shoulder, causing Deidara to peek askance at him.

"What was it you were going to tell me?"

"Wha?"

"You said you needed to tell me something and that not to hate you for it," Itachi explained.

Deidara turned his attention back to the television and shrugged off-handedly. "Never mind, it wasn't important, un."

Itachi stared in wonder, trying to guess what exactly was going through the boy's mind. Sighing gently, he rested his chin on his fist and tried to get into the movie, knowing full well by the tiny shivers occurring next to him that Deidara wasn't one for horror films.

Another twenty minutes in and a certain blond head was cowered into the pillow, soft whimpers escaping every so often. Geez, for such a hotheaded guy, he sure was acting like a pussy now. A shrill scream erupted from Itachi's surround sound and Deidara emitted one to match; clinging to Itachi like he was life support in the middle of the ocean.

"You're acting like a chick, you know?"

Deidara shot a glare from under his arm and bumped him, rather hard, with his hip. Itachi bumped back twice as violent…and oh, you can see where this is going.

Eventually, they both lie, panting in exertion, the screams of the victims on-screen blaring in the background. Itachi eyed the blond in his peripheral vision, trying to regain his breath. Deidara's face was red and heated, his eyelids lidded; golden strands of hair stuck to his damp forehead and neck.

His eyes were drawn next to the boy's lips and watched, in fascination, as a soft, pink tongue slipped out and ran along the bottom lip. It was if Itachi's body was on auto-pilot or something because he leaned over and placed a soft, gentle kiss upon those inviting lips.

Deidara's reaction was a far cry from what Itachi was expecting. He had expected to be thrown away, rejected and perhaps even yelled at. No, instead when he began to pull away, Deidara raised up and catching his lower lip between sharp little teeth, brought him back down for another, this time mind-searing, kiss.

Acting on some instinctual stimulus, Itachi parted his lips when that wicked tongue slid along the seam. Liquid fire exploded in his veins when he felt Deidara slide along his inner cheek and the expanse of gum below his bottom teeth.

Holy shit, this kid knew how to kiss!

Itachi began to chuckle softly when his brain finally caught up with his actions. Here was Itachi Uchiha; totally straight but nonetheless making out on his bed with another male. Kind of defied the odds, didn't it?

Deidara broke away for air, peeking up beneath lidded eyes at the raven. Itachi brushed his thumb beneath a blue eye and over the bridge of his nose, releasing a long, shuddering sigh.

"What does this mean?"

Deidara thought for a moment, eyes rolling skyward, and smiled brightly. "It means we are not as secure in our sexuality as we like to think we are, un."

Itachi bent suddenly and nipped his chin, working a slow path to his collarbone causing the younger male to buck and moan slightly.

"Y-you don't seem to be too bothered by this fact," Deidara muttered in his ear and he felt the boy's knees shift till they were on either side of him.

The Uchiha had only been intimate a few times in his life and then it had been when he was 17 and with a girl a year younger than him. So the feeling of another groin, quite similar to his, pressed close to his own was a thrilling experience. He rolled his hips experimentally and groaned at the friction, savoring the whine that escaped from Deidara's parted lips.

"That…that felt weird," Itachi commented quietly.

Deidara's face froze for a split second before he burst wildly out in laughter. He paused once more before breaking out into another fit, rolling out from underneath him.

"What?" the raven inquired innocently.

"You are so fucking awkward, un!"

Itachi blinked slowly before pulling the blond down next to him. Deidara giggled and nuzzled his neck affectionately.

"Can we watch a different movie, un?"

Itachi noticed, when he got up to change the movie, Deidara had ahold of his pants leg between nimble fingers. Itachi spun on his heel, fiddling nervously with the movie case in his hands.

"Um…what are we going to do about what we've got started here? I mean, I'm not gay, I like women."

"I'm not gay either, un."

"So…" Itachi trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. Deidara pondered for a moment, biting his thumb between white teeth.

"Let's agree to not be gay _together, _un."

Itachi chuckled and put Happy Feet into the dvd drive, moving backwards to sit back on the bed with the blond.

"Was ist dieses Gefuhl, das ich habe, wenn du in der Nahe bist?" Deidara mumbled quietly to himself, although Itachi heard him anyway. He shot him a questioning look but Deidara just shook his head.

"Nothing, so what are we watching, un?"

* * *

Itachi, Sasuke, and Naruto were all seated around the kitchen bar early the next morning, the latter two arguing over corn flakes or something.

"Deidara, I got you a ride to school and it's about to leave without you," Itachi yelled, flipping calmly through the morning paper. Not a few moment later, the blond flounced into the room, his bag slung over his right shoulder, a cloud of Axe trailing in his wake. Without any warning, he leaned over the bar and kissed Sasuke directly on the mouth.

"What the hell are you…?!" Itachi exclaimed, but was silenced when the boy's lips covered his own for the briefest second.

Naruto, perhaps having some strange intuition he was next, braced himself as Deidara turned on him. Even so, he couldn't stop from banging his knee on the underside of the table as the boy's lips connected with his own with an audible smacking sound.

He then darted over to Ms. Takada, who was gaping in shock, and kissed her as well. He then exited out of the room in a flurry of blond and black (as most of Itachi's clothing are dark), leaving the remaining occupants in traumatic silence.

"I really, really like this kid," Ms. Takada mumbled, a large, stupid grin spread over her face.

"Maybe, maybe, "Naruto piped up, always the optimist, "it's a European thing, like bikini waxes or polio vaccines!"

Itachi shook his head in disagreement, smirking at the blush that had crept up Sasuke's neck. "No, I think it's just a Deidara thing."

* * *

**Author's Note: Translation of Deidara's sentence in German is: What is this feeling I have when you are near.**

**Hopefully, it says that. Maybe someone who can speak fluent German could help me with that.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	8. This is My Curse

**Phobia**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: Well, I really hate the beginning of this chapter but you might be pleased because, yes, this is the lemon chapter. So if it offends you, don't read, for my sake and yours.**

**Mood Song: Reden Unplugged by Tokio Hotel **

* * *

**Chapter 8: This is My Curse**

* * *

D-Day came a lot sooner than Itachi expected but nonetheless, a wave of relief swept over his body. As the police twisted his father's arms behind his back and clicked the handcuffs in place, he couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't upset that Fugaku was going to prison.

Had their relationship drifted that far apart?

No, there was never really any sort of father/son bonding in the first place. The man had spent his whole life belittling his sons, regardless of how hard they tried to please him and make him proud.

He stood, leaning against his office door, arms crossed over his chest and a look of apathy written across his face. He didn't even so much as flinch when Fugaku pleaded with him to prove his innocence.

"You shame the family," Itachi sneered, stepping around the huddle of officers and cameras and heading for his car.

There was only one person he wanted to see at the moment; only one person who could make him forget everything that was happening.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon which meant classes would be letting out soon. Itachi stalled his engine by the curb and turned down the radio till it was a comfortable hum in the background. A bell sounded from afar, signaling the end of the day for overjoyed college-goers. Itachi scanned the crowd, a wave of potent jealousy hitting him like a bus when he spotted Deidara talking and laughing with another boy, presumably one of his peers.

He quickly squashed this feeling down.

It wasn't like he and Deidara were dating. Itachi's hands froze on the wheel, his breath hitching quietly in his throat. When had he started seeing him and the boy as a possible item? More importantly, when had he suddenly accepted the fact that they could be together at any given time?

Not that consistent for a supposedly straight male, don't you agree?

Itachi's thought process was broken as his passenger door swung suddenly open and a calm, reassuring scent filled the interior of the automobile.

"This is a hell of a lot better than taking the bus, un," the blond commented but paused when Itachi turned his eyes to him.

"Burger and fries." It wasn't even really a question but more of a general statement.

"U-uh, sure I guess," Deidara replied cautiously, brow furrowed in confusion.

Itachi took them to a small burger joint near the harbor which he and Sasuke frequently visited. Once they got their food and sat down on one of the many outside benches, they fell into a comfortable conversation, Deidara replying between bites of his burger, that was so large it could possibly feed a small Ethiopian family.

"This is unlike you, un. You don't seem like the type who would treat someone to food out of the blue."

Itachi swirled a fry around in ketchup before bringing it to his mouth. "I've had a very trying day and I thought I would be nice one last time before I became mean."

"Yeah, I heard about your father on the news. I would say I'm sorry but I have a feeling that you don't want my pity, un." The blond abruptly looked away before continuing quietly.

"Last night you asked me what I had said when I spoke in German. I had said, "What is this feeling I get when you are near?" I feel so normal when I'm with you; not this foreign anomaly that everyone else sees, un. You don't try to make me into something I'm not but instead treat me like you probably treat everyone else. This may sound masochistic but I feel the most normal when you're yelling at me. Shit, I don't know why I'm telling you this now, especially so sudden, un."

He fell silent then, shredding a napkin to little bits. Itachi took a deep breath and tried to calm the ferocious beat his heart was pounding to. Was this a confession? Deidara's words struck a chord deep within him; how could he put into words that he was feeling exactly what Deidara was?

The blond stood suddenly, all seriousness gone, and pointed to a place behind Itachi's head. "Let's go on those, un," he exclaimed, excited.

Itachi looked to where the blond was hurrying off to already, his voice dying in his throat. Absolutely not. No fucking way.

He stared, stupefied, up at the 10 or so cable cars suspended 50 feet above his head. There was no force on Heaven or Earth that could get him on those swinging death-traps.

Unfortunately, he forgot to recognize the indestructible force that was Deidara and he found himself being dragged up the platform to the entrance of the rides. The blond threw 20 bucks at the attendant and shoved Itachi into the cable car, shutting the door behind them.

Itachi backed up in the car till he hit the far bench, collapsing onto its crimson velvet exterior. "Deidara, this isn't a good idea," he murmured as the car started up with a creaking jolt.

He could already feel bile making its merry way up his esophagus and a light sheen of sweat broke out on his forehead. Fate was mocking him, she had to be! How else could something as simple as a cable car be able to wrap all of his worst fears into one?

Fear 5: the dark.

These things didn't go all that fast so by the time they reached the summit it would already be growing dark out.

Fear 4: small, enclosed spaces.

Well, it was enclosed and small so that one's taken care of.

Fear 3: Spiders

Itachi could practically hear the maniacal laughter coming from the vicious arachnids in their respective dark corners.

Fear 2: Heights

50 feet was pretty fucking high up; you do the rest of the math.

Fear 1: Blood

This hadn't happened of yet but give it awhile. Darkness plus panic attack usually equals in some sort of injury.

Deidara was kneeling on one of the seats, looking out the window at the large expanse of ground beneath them. "Whoa, this is awesome! Itachi come check this out, un."

Ignoring the blond's cries of amazement, Itachi curled up on the seat and focused on settling his stomach. The car gave another creaking groan and inched forward at an angle another 7 feet. The raven felt his pulse behind his eyelids as his pupils focused and unfocused on the wall across from him. He tried to take a deep breath and force air into his lungs but instead, it felt like he sucked in a great gulp of water.

Quick review over Murphy's Law: If anything can go wrong, it will. Just so you know.

Unexpectedly, the car gave another creaking groan and stopped completely, suspending them a little under halfway of the peak. A crackly voice sounded above them on the intercom system.

"We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please remain calm and seated. You are in no life-threatening danger. I repeat, please remain calm and seated."

"Well, this is just great, un," Deidara resigned himself with a sigh, finally glancing over to the prone form of Itachi. "Itachi, are you okay?"

The raven replied with a pitiful whine, curling further in on himself. Immediately, the blond was kneeling over him on the seat, cradling him in his arms. "Have you ever seen the show Monk, un?"

Itachi shook his head gently, his dark tresses escaping out of his low ponytail and falling over his face.

"Well, there's this guy on there who is afraid of everything, pretty much. And well, you just remind me of him, is all, un."

He felt a hand brush his cheek and instantly, the uneasy feeling he was experiencing in his stomach dissipated. Simultaneously, he realized why he seemed to like Deidara so much. The boy was his safe haven, someone who could fix everything going wrong with a simple touch.

Yes, he had told himself after Obito, he would never allow someone to get close to him and corrupt his life with their presence. But if this was the sort of corruption he was fearing, well then, he really needed to re-think things through!

Butterflies filled his stomach, this time not due to the earlier stages of a panic attack. He leaned upward on his elbows and brushed his lips softly over Deidara's. The blond squeaked in surprised and withdrew a bit.

"You sure have a funny way of deterring your mind from fear, un"

Itachi cut him off with his mouth, pressing down a little harder than before, his hand coming up to tangle in the blond's golden ponytail. He twisted it around in his hand and smirked devilishly against the other's mouth.

"It seems I have me an "oh-shit" handle to grab onto."

Deidara snorted quietly through his nose and bit down softly on Itachi's lower lip, causing the raven to gasp in surprise, allowing Deidara's playful tongue access to his mouth. The kiss was slow and sensual, allowing Itachi time to adjust his body to accommodate the weight above him.

"There is love…burning to find you…will you wait for me…" Deidara whispered softly, placing feather-light kisses along Itachi's collarbone.

Itachi recognized the lyrics immediately. Killswitch was one of his favorite bands. Still, no matter how corny it was to for Deidara to utter that, it brought Itachi to a sudden realization. He was in love with Deidara, possibly had been all along. And through it all, he would wait for him, as long as it took till the boy found himself in this world. As long as it took to battle those demons that plagued his past.

Itachi would be his future.

Flipping their positions so he was on top, Itachi leaned down and pressed his lips directly in the middle of Deidara's throat. He felt the boy's pulse flutter beneath his mouth and he moved upwards, catching the blond in a heated kiss.

Nimble fingers came up and tugged at his jacket, pulling it off in one fluid motion. Cool hands crept up the back of his shirt and splayed themselves over his shoulder blades, sharp nails scratching lightly at the warm skin.

When Itachi broke away for air, Deidara opened his eyes slowly, boring into him with dark cobalt orbs. The boy quickly leaned up and placed a chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth.

"I love you, un," he murmured quietly, the sound of the wind rushing outside the windows adding a dramatic effect to his words. Itachi brushed his thumb over the hollow of the boy's neck, the tender motion causing a sigh to escape his lips.

"I love you too, Deidara," Itachi replied, his breath coming out in a strong whoosh, a weight leaving his chest once he uttered those words.

The blond wrapped his arms around Itachi's neck and pulled himself up till there was only an inch or so between them. His warm breath fluttered against the raven's chin and it caused a shiver to race down his spine.

"Show me," Deidara mumbled before crashing their lips together roughly, his fingers tangling with the loose hair at the nape of Itachi's neck.

Itachi kissed him back with equal fervor, hands removing clothing with abnormal speed, breaths mingling with the vapor rising from their mouths as they both realized how chilly it was outside. Itachi smoothed his hands down Deidara's abdomen, taking pleasure in the fact that he had a light trail of blond hair running down from his navel and disappearing into the waistband of his boxers.

Lightly, he ran his tongue along the boy's abdominal muscles causing the boy below him to mewl and arch in response. Grasping onto Deidara's wrists he pulled them above his head, stretching him taut against his own body as one hand worked on removing the last remaining article of clothing.

The boy shivered as soon as his half-hardened member was released from its fabric prison, twisting his hips in order to get close to Itachi. It was all for naught as the raven dipped between his legs and took him in his mouth. Deidara uttered a sharp gasp and bucked up causing Itachi to cough slightly. To prevent from getting gagged again, he held the boy's hips down with one hand and continued his ministrations with the other.

To tell the truth, Itachi had no fucking clue what he was doing. He had never got someone off, mainly because there was no reason to ever have to before. He focused on giving as much pleasure as possible to the writhing blond below him, using the pressure he normally did when using his hand on himself.

Itachi suddenly realized, with an ironic pang, that he was about to have sex with another male in a cable car, suspended 60 or so feet in the air and the main thing he was worrying about was, "Am I doing this right?"

Deidara's mewls had turned to pants and he thrashed from side to side, his release apparently very close. Itachi let the boy's member fall from his mouth with a soft plop and he moved up to his chest, ignoring the blatant glare directed his way.

"Suck please," he commanded, holding up three of his fingers to Deidara. The blond stared at them apprehensively, confusion and uncertainty crossing his features. Itachi smiled gently and leaned forward, catching the boy's lips in a sweet, chaste kiss.

A little breathless, Deidara latched onto his fingers and suckled gently, scraping them lightly with his sharp teeth. A shiver raced parallel to Itachi's spine and his own member twitched in anticipation.

Giving one final lick, he released the digits and gasped in surprise when one immediately pressed into his entrance. He hissed at the uncomfortable foreign feeling, arching to the side in an attempt to escape it. Itachi brushed his lips over Deidara's drawn-up knee, trying to soothe him. He hated causing the blond any discomfort whatsoever but this was something he needed to do to alleviate the pain that would come later on.

How he knew this exactly, he had no idea?

Adding another finger, he stretched the opening slightly before pushing in the last digit. Deidara moaned softly at the feeling, still trying to escape the torment. Itachi crooked his fingers and nearly jumped when Deidara emitted an erotic sound that came deep from his chest. Itachi lightly pressed on those bundle of nerves once more actually lifting the boy into the air as he arched upwards.

Deidara heaved a giant shudder and lowered himself back onto the bench, his knees spreading apart unintentionally. Itachi had to forcibly stop himself from ravishing the boy beneath him at the sight of the lithe body presenting itself in such a carnal fashion. Tearing off his own boxers, he spat into his palm, lubricating his own member thoroughly.

Placing Deidara's legs onto his shoulders, he situated himself at the entrance, taking a deep breath as he did so.

"I imagine this is going to hurt like hell, so try to relax, okay?"

Deidara gave a weak nod, noticeably relaxing into the velvet cushion of the bench. Itachi rotated his hips forwards, pausing when Deidara let out a hiss of pain. Slowly, he pushed in further causing the blond to cry out loudly. Deciding on the most humane decision he brought himself down hard quickly, a shudder ripping through his body.

Holy hell, it was so tight!

Deidara uttered a strangled gasp, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes, his lower lip caught between sharp little teeth. Itachi kissed away the tears before pressing his lips gently onto those of Deidara's.

"I'm sorry," he murmured in the boy's ear, hoping he would adjust soon. It was agonizing to hold himself back for this long.

Deidara shifted impatiently after a few moments and Itachi took this as his cue to move. He began at a slow, deep pace, trying to re-locate the bundle of nerves he had hit earlier. Deidara's hair had come out of its tie and was framed beautifully around his face, the look of complete rapture on his face just adding to the picture.

Itachi angled his hips and thrust forward. Deidara moaned loudly, his heels digging painfully in the raven's shoulder blades. Apparently, that sweet spot wasn't as elusive as he first thought.

Deidara arched upwards to try to get Itachi hit it again and the raven complied, feeling the body underneath his convulse in pleasure. There was a band of tension building in his groin and he knew that he was near his own release.

Grasping onto Deidara's neglected member, he ran his thumb over the slit at the top, the blond moaning uncontrollably as Itachi continued to pound into his prostate.

The tension increased inside him and he slammed forward suddenly, shuddering violently as his vision became dotted with black. He felt Deidara's inner walls milk him dry and something warm and sticky hit his stomach.

He gave a couple final thrusts, waiting on his mind and body to come down from its euphoric high. His pulse was pounding behind his closed eyelids and he felt a hand come up and cup his cheek.

"That is the most beautiful expression I have ever seen on your face, un."

Itachi opened his eyes slowly, revealing midnight orbs. Deidara was spread out, still underneath him, his chest rising and falling as he fought to catch his breath. A light sheen of sweat covered their bodies and Itachi pulled out slowly, warm liquid running down Deidara's thighs in his wake.

Itachi gathered the boy in his arms and kissed him gently, embracing the boy with all his might. Could his heart burst from all this emotion he was feeling? Feeling like words would dampen the situation, he pulled on his boxers and lay back down on the bench with Deidara, bringing their jackets up to cover them.

They must have had perfect timing because the static voice suddenly clicked on above them.

"We have fixed the problem. Thank you for waiting patiently; you will be refunded at the attendant's desk."

As soon as the voice clicked off, the car began to move once more but this time Itachi didn't have the time to have a panic attack.

He was too busy absorbing the love he felt in Deidara's arms. Things were never going to be the same between them again and to Itachi, that was just perfectly fine with him.

* * *

**Author's Note: That has to be the longest lemon I have written to date. There will probably be one or two more chapters after this to tie everything up and after that I might get to work editing the plot holes that are littering this poor story.**

**Mask of Mirage**


	9. A Map to the End

**Phobia**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: Sorry for such the long wait but I had to step back from this for a while and see where I was going with it. This is the last chapter of _Phobia_. I've sort of lost the spark to this story so I'm going to end it before I run it into the ground with lifeless chapters.**

**Mood Song: The Smallprint by Muse**

* * *

**Chapter 9: A Map to the End**

* * *

Itachi woke one morning after his father's trial to a comfortable pressure on his chest, warm fingers splayed across his forearm. Tendrils of silky, golden hair tickled his nose and he blew it softly away from his face. He could hear the rhythmic ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway and the animated sounds of Sasuke's video game; Naruto's voice the only thing breaking the tandem with, "Ha, eat shit, Sasuke!"

The weight on his chest shifted slightly, ice blue blinking groggily up at him. Mumbling, Deidara yawned and stretched, reminding Itachi very much like a cat.

"Good morning," he murmured, leaning down for a kiss only to be pushed away.

"Morning breath," Deidara said as way of explanation. Itachi mumbled an 'I-don't-care' and bent once more only to be met this time with a hand over his mouth.

"I meant _you_ have morning breath," the blond giggled, escaping the raven's clutches. Itachi laughed heartily and maneuvered himself out from under the naked boy, thankful he had slipped his boxers back on the night before as Ms. Takada came bustling through the doorway in the form of an overweight tornado.

"Come child, get out of bed with your lazy bones or you'll be late for school," she commanded, ushering the disorientated blond into the adjoining bathroom.

Deidara awkwardly stumbled out of the bed, hair flying askew and sheets wrapped tightly around his nude form. As soon as he locked the door behind him and the sound of the shower began, the elderly lady turned her attention on Itachi.

"It's a wonder the poor boy can even walk; I know for a fact you two didn't get to sleep till two in the morning."

Itachi blushed crimson and cast his eyes to the ground, embarrassed for Deidara's sake; he couldn't help being voiceful.

"So, you don't mind, Mom?"

She gave out a booming chuckle, capturing the raven in a forceful bear hug, possibly snapping vertebrae in the process.

"I'm just glad you found someone worthy enough of you." She waddled back to the door, pausing to shoot him a suggestive wink and some last-minute advice. "Just go easy on the poor soul, he's not used to the Uchiha libido."

Itachi choked audibly as terrifying images filled his head, such as the night he was conceived and worse still, Sasuke and his teacher on top of a school desk. These thoughts were quickly dispelled when a warm, lithe form pressed up against him from behind. The dampness that was radiating from Deidara soaked into his skin and he closed his eyes briefly, enjoying the moment.

"What's wrong, un? You look like you've seen a ghost," Deidara breathed on the back of his neck, causing a shiver to shoot down his spine. Turning around, he pulled the blond close and pressed his lips to the other's temple. Deidara let out a long sigh and folded into him, his fingers finding purchase against Itachi's lower back.

"I have to get to school and you have to get to work, so I advise you to stop thinking what you're thinking, un."

Itachi huffed lightly but released the boy so he could get his books together, discreetly ogling the other's backside each time he bent over.

"Okay, I'm ready, un," Deidara chirped, swinging his tattered green bag over his shoulder. Itachi realized suddenly with an ironic jolt that that stupid bag was what started this whole mess. The second thing he realized as he followed Deidara down the stairs, his loose blond hair bouncing around his elbows, what a fine mess it turned out to be.

* * *

They all piled into Itachi's car five minutes later, Sasuke and Naruto taking advantage of Itachi's rare hospitality. The raven couldn't help but smile as the other three belted out a tune on the radio as he maneuvered them through the crowded streets of Japan.

"Kick off your stilettos. Kick off your stilettos. And fuck me in the backseat. Fuck me in the backseat!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow, noticing, for the first time, he _did_ have a pretty spacious backseat. By the time they had arrived at Deidara's college, the car was in good spirits and laughing loudly. The blond twisted in his seat and fixed the two younger teenagers with a stern look.

"Okay, Naruto, no more pranks. Sasuke, no screwing your teacher during school hours, un. And, oh, Itachi…," he recited, turning expectantly to Itachi, lips pursed.

The raven smiled at how incredibly adorable his boyfriend was and complied, placing a sweet kiss on the other's lips.

"Ew, PDA," Naruto yelled from the back, causing Deidara to stick his tongue out playfully at the younger male. Then he was gone, bounding across the school grounds, attempting to pull up his hair with one hand, as tardy bells rang in the distance.

"Aniki," Sasuke spoke up, leaning into the front seat, "I like him."

"Yeah, he's pretty cool," Naruto agreed, not wanting to be left out.

Itachi laughed and put the car into gear, pulling away from the curb and into the traffic. "Yeah, Otouto, I like him, too, I like him, too."

A soft wind blew in through the cracked windows and was lost amidst the radio and Sasuke and Naruto singing off-key. Things were only going to get better from here on out. And even if the worse was still to come, Itachi was going to be too busy to notice. After all, he still had to wait for his little German to find his place in the world.

Hopefully, it would be right next to him…

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**Author's Note: Ew, I hate ending on fluff but eh, oh well. So yea, incredibly short, pointless chapter to wrap up and incredibly short and pointless story. A fitting ending, so it seems.**

**Disclaimer: The song they were singing in the car was Fer Sure by The Medic Droid, which of course I don't own. Chris Donathan, does I believe. The song is still fun to sing at the top of your lungs.**

**Manga Spoilers: Ugh, Jiraiya is still having it off with Pein. Will this fight never end Kishi-sama?! Or are you planning on putting another 100+ weeks of filler in there. headdesk**

**Mask of Mirage**


	10. Epilogue

**Phobia**

* * *

**Author: Mask of Mirage**

**Rating: M**

**Comments: I've finally decided to clear up the whole Pein/Naruto fiasco. It's not really where I wanted to go with it but I figured if I got this out, I could get it off my mind. And they always say once you stop trying so hard thinking about it, it comes to you. I'm hoping it will work with me in this situation.**

**Mood Song: Fersure Maybe by Medic Droid (why the hell not?)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

**Epilogue**

* * *

Itachi stepped out of his car two weeks later in front of the warehouse that had now become familiar to him. The salty, sea breeze irritated his eyes but he made no move to shield them. He wasn't here to be weak.

Instead of Hidan standing at his post, there was a woman leaning casually against the side of the building. Her strikingly blue air and piercing light-colored eyes stunned Itachi for a moment. He stepped closer to her to make her aware of his presence.

She ignored him completely, studying her nails instead. Before Itachi opened his mouth to speak, she interrupted him.

"I'm Konan, I know my hair is weird, fuck off. I don't care who you are either way so don't tell me. Pein tells me to tell you that he's busy but that's a lie, " she looks up finally and smiles sweetly, "so, why don't you just go ahead and go on in."

Itachi stares wordlessly at her for a few seconds before blinking and opening the door to his right. The inside is dimly-lit, like he remembers it and he weaves between the crates in the direction of Pein's office. The door is standing open and he stops in the threshold. Pein is talking in on the phone and when he notices him in the doorway, his eyes widen in surprise. Waving him in, with his hand, he now speaks hurriedly.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get Nagasaki to arrange the paperwork with you and we can have your shipments in by Thursday at the latest." Without signaling the end of the conversation, Pein hangs up the phone and turns to Itachi expectantly.

"Itachi, why are you here? My first thought was for business but I remembered your father's in.."

"Did you know what those crates were carrying?" Itachi blurts out, jumping straight to the point. Pein sighs wearily and links his hands together in front of him, elbows on the desk.

"I do now. Fugaku only asked me to get these shipments in from some little island south of Cuba. By contract, we're not allowed to open the crates unless they break or are too beat up to survive any more transporting. I had no idea he was running drugs. I've done a lot of that in my younger days, but it's behind me now."

Itachi doesn't trust this man but the way he's saying it does make a lot of sense and it's about time he gave someone the benefit of the doubt. He moves toward the door, mumbling a thank you. Hand on the frame, he turns back around, eyeing Pein with a new sort of interest.

"I have one more question?" I heard you were involved with the death of Minato Namikaze and his wife, is that true?"

Pein rolls his eyes, an reaction Itachi wasn't expecting. "That old thing again. I was cleared of my charges. I was in Aruba at that time. The fucked-up looking chick out front can vouch for me. After all, I was sleeping with her during that time."

Itachi scoffs loudly, allowing a laugh to escape his lips. Not necessarily because of what Pein said but that, that same fucked-up looking chick was standing at the end of the hall, arms crossed over her chest. "Who do you think invited you on that trip in the first place!" she yells and Itachi, from his vantage point, could see Pein's face grow ashen.

"Oh baby, it's not like that. I didn't meant it."

Itachi walks out, laughing under his breath, and his head finally clear. It's a comfort to know Pein wasn't the one who killed Naruto's parents but it also left the question up to who did? Maybe, it was one of those things in life you weren't supposed to find out. Naruto seemed happy enough where he was now without Itachi bringing up old wounds.

Things were finally looking up and he had no right to make it any different.


End file.
